JD(S) Leader Suraj Revanna Arrested for Alleged Sexual Assault of Male Party Worker

A case was filed against Suraj Revanna following a complaint from a 27-year-old party worker, who accused the JD(S) leader of sexually assaulting him at a farmhouse in Karnataka's Hassan district on June 16.

Bengaluru: Suraj Revanna, a leader of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD(S)) and elder brother of Prajwal Revanna, has been arrested following allegations of sexually assaulting a male party worker. Prajwal Revanna himself is currently facing multiple accusations of sexual misconduct by several women.

The arrest came after a 27-year-old party worker lodged a complaint accusing Suraj of sexually assaulting him at a farmhouse in Karnataka's Hassan district on June 16. Suraj has denied the charges, claiming the accusations are false and were made after he refused to pay the complainant ₹5 crore.

Adding to the controversy, Suraj's friend Shivkumar has also filed a police complaint, asserting that the party worker had approached him earlier in the month demanding ₹5 crore and threatened to file a sexual abuse case against Suraj if his demands were not met. Shivkumar stated that the man initially sought his help in finding a job and was given Suraj's contact information. However, after failing to secure employment, the man allegedly began blackmailing both Shivkumar and Suraj.

Suraj's arrest follows the recent judicial custody of former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna. The 33-year-old, who is also the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, had recently lost his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary seat. The allegations against Prajwal emerged after explicit videos, purportedly involving him, were circulated in Hassan ahead of the Lok Sabha elections on April 26.

The JD(S) has since suspended Prajwal from the party. The BJP has distanced itself from the scandal, with its state unit president S Prakash stating, "We, as a party, have nothing to do with the videos and neither do we have any comments to make."

In a related development, a police case has been filed against Suraj's father, H.D. Revanna, for allegedly kidnapping a woman who claimed she had been raped by both Suraj and Prajwal. H.D. Revanna, a former MLA and Public Works Department Minister, was granted bail in the kidnapping case on May 14, followed by bail in the sexual assault case.